USUS im Schauspielhaus

Review

Raise the curtain!

Photo: Heribert Corn Founded in 1978 by Hans Gratzer, the Schauspielhaus is considered one of the constants in Vienna's modern theater scene, and because modern theater has always been open to other forms of sensory perception, there has always been a restaurant here: although the Kantine is not directly part of the Schauspielhaus, the relationship could be described as symbiotic. And then there was also a bar in the building next door, which, unlike the Kantine, was anything but constant. And since Easter, this has been the new stage for Patrick Müller. This time, however, he is not acting alone or together with Anna Schwab, but as part of a creative collective that has formed over the past two years in the temporarily used Krieau and consists of artists, craftspeople and perhaps soon also farmers who want to redefine the topic of cooperation in the near future. This collective, called Usus, is currently operating in three different locations, one of which is the restaurant in the neighboring Schauspielhaus building. And as was to be expected after the wonderfully anarchistic spontaneous restaurant punks and the snack projects in the Krieau over the past two summers, this restaurant by Patrick Müller is of course no ordinary theater café. Its opening hours are just a little too strange for that, which is due to the fact that this "theater buffet" is sometimes part of the Schauspielhaus productions and can therefore only be used regularly before or after performances. And even then, a dress rehearsal can get in the way. An uncertainty that you should definitely accept, however, because Müller cooks such great things here too. Five different dishes, one with asparagus, one with kohlrabi, one with spinach, one with trout and one with lamb. What exactly that is depends on Müller's imagination and current availability, for example the lamb is bought whole and then processed from head to toe, with the trout it can happen that "if you're unlucky, you only get the head", with the kohlrabi Müller wants to work his way from the leaf to the bulb, "I still can't rule out that I'll get sick of it at some point", he laughs. In any case, there was no sign of this last week, the steamed kohlrabi on celeriac puree tasted absolutely fantastic, a great vegetable course (€ 6.40), the white asparagus with pan-fried spinach with root and broad beans also (€ 6.40), the fresh oriental lamb sausages with lentil vegetables also (€ 8.50). Ah yes, and since the aperitif is supposed to play a big role here, there are of course also negronis, with homemade vermouth. Once again, it's all very good. Summary: a theater buffet that lives up to artistic and avant-garde standards. Usus in the Schauspielhaus 9th, Porzellang. 15, Tue-Sat 4-7pm,

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